Syria’s Christians fear being attacked; Global South Primates issue a Communiqué from Bangkok; Arms Trade Treaty must regulate ammunition say religious leaders; Faith-based groups ‘strong allies’ in AIDS fight; Saskatchewan to elect indigenous bishop; French town creates ‘Esplanade of Religions’ for greater understanding; Tutu supports decriminalisation of homosexuality worldwide
Syria’s Christians fear being attacked
Christian Today – Christians in Damascus and Aleppo are terrified of being targeted and driven away, according to a senior bishop. Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo SJ of Aleppo said the Church was frightened of a repeat of the catastrophe in Homs in the spring when the Christian quarter came under fire, forcing a mass exodus of almost all of the faithful – more than 120,000.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/syrias.christians.fear.being.attacked/30331.htm
Global South Primates issue a Communiqué from Bangkok
Text of the document: Communiqué of the Global South Primates Bangkok, Thailand, 20 July 2012
It starts out:
1. We, the Primates and representatives of 17 Global South Provinces, met in Bangkok, Thailand, from 18-20 July 2012, in conjunction with the Global South Conference on the Decade of Mission and Networking.
2. The theme of Conference called the Church to “Be Transformed by the Renewing of the mind to Obedience of Faith for Holistic Mission in a Radically Changing Global Landscape”, offering our sanctified bodies and renewed minds as living sacrifices for our Lord’s glory.
And it includes this passage:
6. We note with great sadness the passing of Resolution A049 at the 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church which authorized a liturgy for blessing same-sex unions. This action confirms our disappointment that The Episcopal Church has no regard for the concerns and convictions of the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide.
7. We stand in solidarity with our brethren in the Communion Partners who have dissented from this action. We uphold them in prayer and support them in fellowship as they continue in their commitment to the evangelical faith and catholic order of the Church, as expressed in their Minority Report known as The Indianapolis Statement.
8. We also appreciate and support all the faithful in Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) as well as those in the Anglican Church in Canada who remain true to our biblical and historic faith.
9. We deeply respect and appreciate our historical and spiritual relationship with the See of Canterbury. We have written to the Crown Nominations Commission with concerns from the Global South and important principles for consideration as it nominates candidates for the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury.
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/blog/comments/communique_of_the_global_south_primates_bangkok_thailand_20_july_2012
Arms Trade Treaty must regulate ammunition say religious leaders
Ekklesia – Christian leaders representing organisations of some 90 per cent of the world’s two billion Christians have issued a joint appeal to the 194 governments currently negotiating the first global Arms Trade Treaty: Keep ammunition in the treaty.
Proposals on the negotiating table would ban arms sales for genocide, war crimes and grave human rights violations. Almost all of the 194 states involved recognise that the arms and ammunition most often used in these crimes must therefore be included in the treaty.
Churches and their members witness the human costs of unlawful armed violence every day, as victims are brought to church hospitals and church graveyards in different parts of the world. “The Arms Trade Treaty must regulate the ammunition that strikes them down,” say representatives of the World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, Pax Christi International and Caritas in a joint statement issued on 20 July.
A tiny minority of countries including major powers insist that the treaty not regulate ammunition.
“There is no way ammunition can be omitted from the long-overdue regulation of a trade that has brought such suffering and death to millions of people,” the church leaders declared at the half-way point in sensitive, month-long UN treaty negotiations.
The Moderator of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, the Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, is leading the ecumenical delegation at the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty in New York. The WCC campaign for a strong and effective Arms Trade Treaty involves some 70 member churches and related organisations in 35 countries.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16853
Faith-based groups ‘strong allies’ in AIDS fight
ENI/Anglican Journal – Religion and faith-based groups play a very important role in many poor countries–especially in sub-Saharan Africa–in the fight to stem the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, senior United Nations health officials said on July 18.
In countries such as Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania, they provide up to 40 percent of health services, said Paul De Lay, deputy executive director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Organizations run by Adventists, Catholics, Lutherans, and the Salvation Army specialize in hospitals and the delivery of healthcare services, said De Lay in an interview ENInews.
“They can also play a very powerful role in dealing with stigma and discrimination that surround the AIDS epidemic, welcoming people who are HIV positive–people who disclose their status within their congregations–rather than excluding them,” he added.
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/other/news-items/c/sliders/article/faith-based-groups-strong-allies-in-aids-fight-10976//abp/141.html
Saskatchewan to elect indigenous bishop
Anglican Journal – On July 28, the diocese of Saskatchewan will convene a general assembly to elect a diocesan indigenous bishop as well as members of a new indigenous council.
The election will take place following changes to the diocese’s constitution and canons that provide indigenous members with greater self-determination.
The three candidates nominated for the position are: The Ven. Adam Halkett, archdeacon of the diocese; the Rev. Beryl Whitecap, incumbent at Little Red River Reserve; and The Rev. Canon Park Buck, priest-in-charge at the Church of the Good Shepherd, in Cumberland House.
The diocese is being called “to a greater unity and generosity in response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Bishop Michael Hawkins in a statement.
The diocese of Saskatchewan has about 23,000 members, 60 per cent of whom are Cree First Nations
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/other/news-items/c/sliders/article/saskatchewan-to-elect-indigenous-bishop-council-10979//abp/141.html
French town creates ‘Esplanade of Religions’ for greater understanding
ENI – It’s almost like the late Beatle John Lennon might have imagined things: different faith groups worshiping side by side as a means to living life in peace. Welcome then to Bussy Saint-Georges, a French town that is creating just this scenario. Located 30 kilometers from Paris, the town has provided land where two Buddhist temples, a mosque, and a synagogue will exist alongside one another, as Bussy Saint-Georges’ long-term mayor Hugues Rondeau pursues his dream of a cultural city.
http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5810
Tutu supports decriminalisation of homosexuality worldwide
Christian Today – Archbishop Desmond Tutu is calling on countries to rescind laws banning homosexuality, arguing that its decriminalisation will result in a better understanding of the spread of HIV among homosexual men. “In the future, the laws that criminalise so many forms of human love and commitment will look the way apartheid laws do to us now – so obviously wrong,” Tutu wrote in a recent issue of The Lancet. “Never let anyone make you feel inferior for being who you are. When you live the life you were meant to live, in freedom and dignity,” he added.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/tutu.supports.decriminalisation.of.homosexuality.worldwide/30333.htm